Problem realistyczności założeń w teorii ekonomii
The Problem of Realisticness of Assumptions in Economic Theory

Summary/Abstract: The article poses the question of whether realistic economic models must be based on realistic assumptions. The first section clarifies the understanding of the role and nature of the assumptions in economic theory, as well as the importance of the notion of their realisticness. Next, we refer to the Friedman’s 1953 paper ‘The Methodology of Positive Economics’ and we interpret it from the realistic perspective. Therefore, we claim that abstracting from factors of secondary importance is acceptable and in many cases even desirable. However, it is doubtful skipping those factors that significantly determine the phenomena economic models explain. In the final part of the article we refer to the current discussion about the state of economic theory, in which many blame it of building models based on unrealistic assumptions. We argue that the method of isolation as such is not the problem, however, it matters of what we are abstracting from. As a result, it is not true that realistic models must be based on realistic assumptions.

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